Ice epidemic pushes southwest drug services to the limit

As the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the drug 'ice' or methamphetamine continues, the manager of a drug treatment service in southwest Victoria says families of addicts are struggling to cope with the impacts.

Bev McIlroy is the manager of the Glenelg Southern Grampians Drug Treatment Service that covers towns such as Portland, Hamilton and Casterton.

She says in the past year the service has seen a 30 percent increase in the assistance required relating to the use of 'ice'.

"It's such a terribly difficult drug for users and for those that are impacted by it, so it's very noticeable."

She says while the number of users is small, the impacts on the community and addicts' families are huge.

Ms McIlroy says families of addicts come to the service desperate for help in dealing with their their loved one.

"They can't understand this person at all, their personality's changed, their mood swings are pretty horrific, they're very quick to anger, they're very quick to aggression, they're paranoid."

She says users can be particularly unpredictable when they are coming down off the drug.

"People use and use and all of a sudden the body says 'that's enough', they go to sleep for three or four days and they wake up in withdrawal and they either go back to using again or they become the nasty person in withdrawal."

Ms McIlroy says the clinicians try to help families by explaining the effects of the drug and strategies to help their loved one get better, but says many parents struggle to implement the "tough love" they advocate.

"Not everybody is able to put strong, strict boundaries in place when it comes to parenting. They're not policemen, they're parents."

She says the service is struggling to keep up with the increased demand for intensive therapy, the only form of treatment they can offer addicts.

"It's intensive behaviour change therapy, cognitive based therapy, motivational interviewing, relapse prevention strategy. It's looking at the way people use and trying to change the amount they use and how often they use."

Ms McIlroy says if she could ask the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry for assistance, she would ask for the opportunity to skill up people working in the field who want to live in a rural area.

"To allow them to become those valued therapists that you need for behaviour change."

What's it like?

Stu Fenton is a recovering ice addict and psychotherapist who lives in Daylesford.

He told ABC Local Radio's Steve Martin he started using ice recreationally in his late 20s.

He says smoking the drug gives the user a "very crisp, clear high where you feel quite elevated, euphoric, invincible, and like you can achieve or do anything".

Mr Fenton says he soon became addicted to the drug and his highs went from highly pleasurable to terrifying, as he experienced nightmarish psychotic episodes.

He says during one episode his hallucinations caused him to flee his house.

"I was trying to get away from people who I imagined were trying to kill me. That episode lasted three or four days, not eating, not drinking, not looking after myself until I basically collapsed."